Post a song, I will comment on it

Rainbow - Gates of Babylon

Lari wrote:

John Madden wrote:

Judging by the characters that cross that crotchless angel's waist, this is another Japanese entry here.  There's the Sphinx, the pyramids, space, an angel... what is going on here? And the band is called Lazy?
What a terrible band name. What next... Sleepy?

But the song. The guitar sound is not very heavy, and the rhythm is a little pop-rocky, if you know what I mean. But it's damn hooky. I like it. The solo is gorgeous. Even if the song slows down during the instrumental break. This is an interesting song. It finishes with pop style layered vocals and funky (fuzz?) guitar that speeds up. I don't know what to think of it, to be honest. But there's some talent there, especially in the guitar work. And this could be a total mess, but it's pretty tasty actually (unlike the album cover!).

This was very interesting. Thank you!

At the very least, I can now play this at work to show off how eccentric I am. I can be a bit of an attention whore. No, actually it's because there's this one colleague who plays all this weird stuff to me every day. Like this. I am frightened by all that weirdness. But she is still nicer than the 'radio guy' who has classic rock radio on non-stop at his desk. On a boombox that's 40 years old.

This was Lazy's last album before they changed their name to.....LOUDNESS. You might have heard of them.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Local phoenix band. Saw them open for another phoenix local band called Flotsam and Jetsam a few months back. They’re good, not great. Cool live energy in concert though.

Empire of Dezire. No expectations. Cool synth intro. Like Power of the Night, or something.

I like the guitar tone. Intriguing. Female vocals and she's actually quite mean sounding, even if she's not very 'excellent' technically. Video is not very great, low budget or not, so I stopped watching it after the first minute and just listened to the music. But the song actually works quite well for me. It's carried by this cool guitarwork in the background, and when the solo comes it's very Judas Priesty.

It's nothing like Flotsam & Jetsam. But it's good enough to keep me entertained for the duration of the song. I'm not ordering their CDs, but it was okay. Cool there's yet another professional sounding metal band in Phoenix.

John Madden wrote:

Lari wrote:

John Madden wrote:

Judging by the characters that cross that crotchless angel's waist, this is another Japanese entry here.  There's the Sphinx, the pyramids, space, an angel... what is going on here? And the band is called Lazy?
What a terrible band name. What next... Sleepy?

But the song. The guitar sound is not very heavy, and the rhythm is a little pop-rocky, if you know what I mean. But it's damn hooky. I like it. The solo is gorgeous. Even if the song slows down during the instrumental break. This is an interesting song. It finishes with pop style layered vocals and funky (fuzz?) guitar that speeds up. I don't know what to think of it, to be honest. But there's some talent there, especially in the guitar work. And this could be a total mess, but it's pretty tasty actually (unlike the album cover!).

This was very interesting. Thank you!

At the very least, I can now play this at work to show off how eccentric I am. I can be a bit of an attention whore. No, actually it's because there's this one colleague who plays all this weird stuff to me every day. Like this. I am frightened by all that weirdness. But she is still nicer than the 'radio guy' who has classic rock radio on non-stop at his desk. On a boombox that's 40 years old.

This was Lazy's last album before they changed their name to.....LOUDNESS. You might have heard of them.

Now THAT is a name I have heard of. Loudness' Thunder in the East was on heavy rotation in my place at one point in my early 20's. But I never dug any deeper.

Troublezone wrote:

Rainbow - Gates of Babylon

Ritchie Blackmore is one of my all-time favourite guitarists, and this song is one of the reasons why. This was my first Rainbow CD and I love it to bits. A great composition, but in essence this song is just a lot of spectacular music that just sounds improvised or at least feels like fingers flowing with the moment. I don't know what it is. Blackmore always was a great live soloist, improvising what comes next. He just never put it down in the studio as well as he did here.

I'm going to have to look up the guitar tab, because the main melodies sound like something I could maybe try and play. It sounds great.

This song and LA Connection were on a mix tape I made in the 90's that I took with me to Africa. I didn't have much music with me to play on the Walkman, but I remember playing this song quite a lot back then. I had the CD back in Finland. I later ended up collecting all Rainbow albums on CD, Dio/Bonnet/Turner/White, no matter, it's all good. But this might still be my favourite of theirs, even if the general public drools over Rising. I don't. I love this one. And I think I might even take the debut over Rising.

This song I know is a great inspiration to many neoclassical players. Ritchie, love him or hate him, and I do love him, wrote some of the greatest tunes of the 20th century. Including this one right here.

The album also includes memorable classics like The Shed, and possibly the single most covered song in power metal history - Kill the King.

I didn't even get started on Ronnie James Dio, but let's not even go there. The man was flawless perfection. Enough said.


Great song. I love it. I don't think I have played the Gates of Babylon in several years now. New music has attracted my attention. But it's always nice to come back to the classics. To see where it all started. To appreciate Ritchie Blackmore some more. Wholesome.

Last summer I was actually in a heavy Blackmore kick and filled up both my Purple and Rainbow collections. I have a couple Blackmore's Night CD's, too, that I bought nearly 20 years ago. But those were never as interesting to me. Folk music. Well made medieval folk music. But the chicks dig them whenever I play them some Blackmore's Night, so what do I know. Blackmore is a god.

I believe I did listen to all the songs posted so far. But the thread is getting a little confusing - IF I somehow missed your post, let me know. It wasn't on purpose.

And you can contribute more stuff, even if I'm not sure I will get to them around the holidays. But eventually I will.

Lari wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Rainbow - Gates of Babylon

Ritchie Blackmore is one of my all-time favourite guitarists, and this song is one of the reasons why. This was my first Rainbow CD and I love it to bits. A great composition, but in essence this song is just a lot of spectacular music that just sounds improvised or at least feels like fingers flowing with the moment. I don't know what it is. Blackmore always was a great live soloist, improvising what comes next. He just never put it down in the studio as well as he did here.

I'm going to have to look up the guitar tab, because the main melodies sound like something I could maybe try and play. It sounds great.

This song and LA Connection were on a mix tape I made in the 90's that I took with me to Africa. I didn't have much music with me to play on the Walkman, but I remember playing this song quite a lot back then. I had the CD back in Finland. I later ended up collecting all Rainbow albums on CD, Dio/Bonnet/Turner/White, no matter, it's all good. But this might still be my favourite of theirs, even if the general public drools over Rising. I don't. I love this one. And I think I might even take the debut over Rising.

This song I know is a great inspiration to many neoclassical players. Ritchie, love him or hate him, and I do love him, wrote some of the greatest tunes of the 20th century. Including this one right here.

The album also includes memorable classics like The Shed, and possibly the single most covered song in power metal history - Kill the King.

I didn't even get started on Ronnie James Dio, but let's not even go there. The man was flawless perfection. Enough said.


Great song. I love it. I don't think I have played the Gates of Babylon in several years now. New music has attracted my attention. But it's always nice to come back to the classics. To see where it all started. To appreciate Ritchie Blackmore some more. Wholesome.

Last summer I was actually in a heavy Blackmore kick and filled up both my Purple and Rainbow collections. I have a couple Blackmore's Night CD's, too, that I bought nearly 20 years ago. But those were never as interesting to me. Folk music. Well made medieval folk music. But the chicks dig them whenever I play them some Blackmore's Night, so what do I know. Blackmore is a god.

Well said! Such a classic!

Dio’s voice was in demand and perfect for the bluesy British metal legends, that’s why Iommi and Blackmore hired him (despite him being American).

Lari wrote:

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Local phoenix band. Saw them open for another phoenix local band called Flotsam and Jetsam a few months back. They’re good, not great. Cool live energy in concert though.

Empire of Dezire. No expectations. Cool synth intro. Like Power of the Night, or something.

I like the guitar tone. Intriguing. Female vocals and she's actually quite mean sounding, even if she's not very 'excellent' technically. Video is not very great, low budget or not, so I stopped watching it after the first minute and just listened to the music. But the song actually works quite well for me. It's carried by this cool guitarwork in the background, and when the solo comes it's very Judas Priesty.

It's nothing like Flotsam & Jetsam. But it's good enough to keep me entertained for the duration of the song. I'm not ordering their CDs, but it was okay. Cool there's yet another professional sounding metal band in Phoenix.

I bought an EP they had for sale at the merch booth, and this is the best song on it. Like I said, they are nothing that will blow your mind, but seeing them live is a lot of fun. Definitely better live than on record. They seem to be the go to local band when a bigger artist needs a decent opener. I've sen that that have opened for Flotsam a few times, and they opened for Geoff Tate a couple months ago. Couple more I read about, but can't bring to mind ATM. I'll be seeing them again next month when they open for the Iron Maidens. My buddy has a huge hard-on for the singer of Empire, so he's always trying to drag me out whenever they play somewhere. I agreed to go this time, just because I thought it would be fun to see the Iron Maidens. Bruce gets on my nerves these days, but I still love the music, so this might be what I need to get my Maiden fix without the grating sound that is Bruce Dickinson lol

Next...

Tell me your thoughts on this Haiduk track, Lari.

In the early 90s, these guys were a generic melodic hard rock band but later reformed with some kick ass metal with more hooks than a tackle box.

I know this out of your wheelhouse, but are you familiar HEILUNG ?  They are a German/Danish folk band on the French Black Metal label Season Of Mist. They are not even rock, much less metal. But they sure fit the aesthetic of the label.
They formed when a German tattoo artist, Kai Uwe Faust; specializing in Old Norse symbols and artistry went to a studio to record poems. He payed in tattoo work for studio time. Through this, Kai started to record more and added extra artists to his vision.
Heilung has 3 studio releases so far. And they make their own stage clothes and make their own instruments. This live track is epic and creepy as all get out.
This song is in Old Norse and is a call to arms as foreigners advance. The dvd/blu ray from where this comes from is an otherworldly live performance. Not an easy listen, but...

I'm gonna tackle this one of these days. I have a dozen unwrapped CD's on my desk at the moment, so I can't justify paying attention to extra stuff right now. I mean daily listening stuff during the day.

But I think I'll have a night at home coming up this weekend, and when the kids are asleep I can grab a few cold beverages, sit at the PC and blast out some tracks from this thread and post some comments.

Rosicrucian - Parts of Me

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Next...

Alright, Sacrilege. I feel like I know them, or at least the name. But I could be mistaken. I probably should know them because this sounds really cool. A minute long intro, but then the riffs start to pour.

It's a glorious barrage of riffs, with a great guitar tone. And the drums have life, too. Music that paints vivid images.

I started to think this was an instrumental, tbh. But no. It took about 4:30 for the vocalist to make an appearance. And he can sing! He has a great singing voice, even if he is mixed a little low under the thrash metal attack. The rideout is fast thrash metal to the end. A great song.

Cool album cover, too. Sabbathy. Black. Ravens on the cover, and I was having a stout while listening (Fuller's London Black Cab), so it added to the blackness.


This song is super awesome. CD goes on my shopping list. Full points.

haiduk wrote:

Tell me your thoughts on this Haiduk track, Lari.

Holy shit, Haiduk. OK. I know them. I am coming into this thinking this is going to be quite extreme for me. But let's play it and let's hear it.

It starts with an ominous part that's nice. It's actually melodic. The fast part starts after about a minute and it's this "puts you in a trance" type of blackened death-thrash whatever. You have to be in the mood to enjoy it.

And I was in the mood. It did put me in a trance. You can feel the energy. There are thrash metal hooks here and there to keep you interested. The growling is low and guttural, you can't decipher the words but it's like an instrument that plays with the other instruments. Maybe a bit like that Quebec band, what where they called? Quo Vadis?

I do enjoy the speed. I used to like Norwegian black metal too back in the 90's, so this was not actually very extreme or anything. Just an enjoyable tune. Very different to what I normally listen to. So it was cool. But I'm not rushing out to order their CD's or anything.

Thanks for this.

DallasBlack wrote:

In the early 90s, these guys were a generic melodic hard rock band but later reformed with some kick ass metal with more hooks than a tackle box.

Jaded Heart, named after the Dokken song?

Holy shit, first 5 seconds in and there's a massive KICKASS guitar riff in your face. The rhythm section joins in and the party gets started. Who are these guys and why aren't they huge?!

The singer has a good voice, even if his range isn't tremendous, at least on this song.

Sound is pretty pro, and the production flawless, but also quite stock, especially the guitars. Also drums. They sound exactly like everyone else does.

The song is catchy. So much going right here. But somehow I don't feel like playing this again after the song ended.

But I would give a full album a listen. These guys are clearly good at what they do. A nice find.

metalken wrote:

I know this out of your wheelhouse, but are you familiar HEILUNG ?  They are a German/Danish folk band on the French Black Metal label Season Of Mist. They are not even rock, much less metal. But they sure fit the aesthetic of the label.
They formed when a German tattoo artist, Kai Uwe Faust; specializing in Old Norse symbols and artistry went to a studio to record poems. He payed in tattoo work for studio time. Through this, Kai started to record more and added extra artists to his vision.
Heilung has 3 studio releases so far. And they make their own stage clothes and make their own instruments. This live track is epic and creepy as all get out.
This song is in Old Norse and is a call to arms as foreigners advance. The dvd/blu ray from where this comes from is an otherworldly live performance. Not an easy listen, but...

Okay then. Heilung.

I put the video on and it's a live performance of some sort of a throat singing folk act? That's the first impression I get.

Cool outfits and cool shaman drums, and the imagery is a bit like what Finnish folk metal bands have. I am not the biggest folk metal fan (though I adore Skyclad). I went through 3mins already and saw that the video is 12+ minutes long! This is going to be a challenge.

I would go see these guys live if they played nearby (and cheap). They are very visual. They put in the effort. But 12+ minute video, I dunno. I also don't understand a word they are saying.

The music is rhythm based shaman music. Not heavy metal. But evil medieval war music. Or something. What do you call this? Very impressive live look though. Hypnotic beats. I kind of like it. And I'm 7 minutes in already, I will definitely play the whole thing now.

But what's this? They stopped playing, there's applause. Is this where the heavy metal starts? After 7 minutes?

The shaman guy who looks like the Capitol rioter does a bloody scream and...

...no heavy metal. Melodic singing (she sounds like Bjork) and more shaman drums. It's pretty well done and these guys are innovative and great. But don't make me listen to another 12+ minute song by them on my headphones. But if they toured my town, hell yes I would go catch their performance. Because that looks and sounds sick. It would be nice to be a part of that.

It just doesn't scratch that itch I have for speed metal right now. Not their fault, obviously. It's my burden to bear, and mine alone. This song was really good. I'm glad I watched it to the end. Maybe I'll play it another time for a drunk and stoned crowd looking for something deep, man.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Rosicrucian - Parts of Me

My first thought was - "hey this sound like it's easy to play! I could try that!". Not everything so far has been easy, not at all.

It's big riffs. Big HEAVY riffs, slow to mid-tempo. Groove metal. Singer comes in and he sounds very German to me. Phil Anselmo mixed with Tom Angelripper.

I know a band that sounds exactly like these guys. The name escapes me, but I once had a tape by them. Is it possible it's the same band? Are these guys that old to have released tapes? I don't think the band was called whatever it says on the title there (Rosicrucian?), but I think maybe they were called Altar or something and they were from Sweden or Norway or Denmark or something. Or Romania. I think they were Romanian.

I'm writing stuff I think of while I listen to the song. There isn't much else to write here. Kind of neat groove/thrash metal, but I don't like Pantera and I don't like Altar or whatever I had back when (must be why I don't have that tape anymore), so this was a miss.

These guys seemed to be pretty good at what they do though.

Troublezone wrote:

I own exactly 1 (one!) KISS cd and it's a recent one. Sonic Boom, and I got it when it was new for my 30th birthday (2CD+DVD version), so I never myself bought a KISS album in my life.

I did listen to plenty of them. I somehow remember getting a new copy of Psycho Circus from the public library for a 7 day loan, but it was... not good.

But I of course know this song. It's got a great main riff. It's heavy. This is from the album that had War Machine and I Love It Loud. It's got good vocals and a good clean powerful production (those background 'oohs' and 'aahs' make the ambient feel). Iced Earth covered this song. But that cover was not as good as the original, even though it had Matt Barlow.

It's a pretty sinister, heavy, but commercial, early 80's pop metal track. Heavy guitars that surely influence many in the genre, not just Jon Schaffer.

I'm not sure when if ever I would have played this track again in my life if not for this post. So cool. It's a classic. I might entertain getting a second KISS cd at some point, but I'm currently into completely different kind of stuff so it has to wait.

Lari wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

I own exactly 1 (one!) KISS cd and it's a recent one. Sonic Boom, and I got it when it was new for my 30th birthday (2CD+DVD version), so I never myself bought a KISS album in my life.

I did listen to plenty of them. I somehow remember getting a new copy of Psycho Circus from the public library for a 7 day loan, but it was... not good.

But I of course know this song. It's got a great main riff. It's heavy. This is from the album that had War Machine and I Love It Loud. It's got good vocals and a good clean powerful production (those background 'oohs' and 'aahs' make the ambient feel). Iced Earth covered this song. But that cover was not as good as the original, even though it had Matt Barlow.

It's a pretty sinister, heavy, but commercial, early 80's pop metal track. Heavy guitars that surely influence many in the genre, not just Jon Schaffer.

I'm not sure when if ever I would have played this track again in my life if not for this post. So cool. It's a classic. I might entertain getting a second KISS cd at some point, but I'm currently into completely different kind of stuff so it has to wait.

This is my favorite Kiss album. It’s heavier and more on the metal side of things for sure! Eric Carr was a fantastic drummer too. In addition to the hits you know about: Creatures, I Love It Loud and War Machine etc… it has my favorite Kiss ballad “I Still Love You”. It’s definitely one of Paul Stanley’s best vocal performances ever.

So if you do get another Kiss album, I recommend this one!

Lari wrote:

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Next...

Alright, Sacrilege. I feel like I know them, or at least the name. But I could be mistaken. I probably should know them because this sounds really cool. A minute long intro, but then the riffs start to pour.

It's a glorious barrage of riffs, with a great guitar tone. And the drums have life, too. Music that paints vivid images.

I started to think this was an instrumental, tbh. But no. It took about 4:30 for the vocalist to make an appearance. And he can sing! He has a great singing voice, even if he is mixed a little low under the thrash metal attack. The rideout is fast thrash metal to the end. A great song.

Cool album cover, too. Sabbathy. Black. Ravens on the cover, and I was having a stout while listening (Fuller's London Black Cab), so it added to the blackness.


This song is super awesome. CD goes on my shopping list. Full points.

He is a she, but other than that everything else you say is spot on. Sadly they only have three albums. This one is my favorite. Their first one is really good too, but must admit I didn’t know it existed until about five years ago. Third ones decent, but the mix didn’t ever fit well with me. Still good, and I’ll listen to it every now and again, but to me her voice was recorded too loud on it and it takes away from the music. Glad you liked the song. Almost picked a different one because like you said, it’s almost an instrumental lol

EDIT: If you do start looking for their stuff, don’t make the same mistake I did and pick up the band called Sacrilege BC. They’re not bad, but kinda generic thrash to me. First time thru was cool, but I got bored soon after.

I actually already ordered Within the Prophecy on CD the other day. A second hand copy.

I also already have another one I discovered in this thread: Achelous - The Icewind Chronicles. And it's new. I've had it for over 3 weeks now but I've yet to even unwrap it. Been busy.

I also got myself a Mekong Delta CD. I don't remember the name. It's somewhere around. Once I find it I'll give it a spin. I think it's one of the newer ones. I found it for €6.00 used.

EDIT: It's called "Lurking Fear".

Lari wrote:

I actually already ordered Within the Prophecy on CD the other day. A second hand copy.

I also already have another one I discovered in this thread: Achelous - The Icewind Chronicles. And it's new. I've had it for over 3 weeks now but I've yet to even unwrap it. Been busy.

I also got myself a Mekong Delta CD. I don't remember the name. It's somewhere around. Once I find it I'll give it a spin. I think it's one of the newer ones. I found it for €6.00 used.

EDIT: It's called "Lurking Fear".

Mekong Delta are one of those bands that have been on my want list for a long time but I still haven't checked them yet.